Armando

Born to Cuban immigrants on Chicago’s south side, Armando established himself as an acid-house trailblazer while still a teenager, adding mid-’80s landmarks such as “Land of Confusion” and “100% of Dissin’ You” to the city’s enduring catalog. A standout baseball player until spinal meningitis ended his athletic career, he turned to turntables and was throwing his own parties by age 16. The next year he also reached the airwaves, filling in for Farley Keith on Chicago’s leading dance program, the Hot Mix 5.

Already among the city’s premier DJs by the time he obtained a driver’s license, Armando launched Warehouse Records alongside Mike Dunn; the label’s inaugural major offerings arrived in 1988 with the singles “151” and “Land of Confusion.” The latter exploded locally and soon reached Britain just as acid house surged there. In 1989 he stood at the forefront of a renewed emphasis on stripped-down, minimalist grooves that echoed his own earlier club successes, supplying production for Ron Trent’s “Altered States,” DJ Rush’s “Child Play,” and Robert Armani’s “Circus Bells,” while also delivering another personal hit, “100% of Dissin’ U.”

Although he assisted Mike Dunn on an album project in 1993, Armando curtailed his own studio work during the first half of the decade, instead holding a residency at the landmark club the Warehouse from 1992 to 1994. After handling A&R duties for Felix Da Housecat’s Radikal Fear imprint, he resumed recording with the label’s “Transaxual” and “Radikal Bitch,” both of which restored his prominence on the house scene; meanwhile Djax-Up-Beats reissued much of the Warehouse catalog, commissioning new remixes from Hardfloor and Edge of Motion. In return, Armando cut sides for European outlets including Labwerks, IDM, STR, and Djax, as well as U.S. imprints Jive and Dance Mania. By mid-1996, after more than a decade of production, he completed his first full-length album, One World One Future. He also joined Mike Dunn, Felix Da Housecat, DJ Sneak, and Roy Davis, Jr. on the Radikal Fear compilation The Chicago All Stars, yet succumbed to leukemia less than two months after that collection appeared.